Love, Theoretically

Thank you, Ali, for giving us another hunky, mountain-sized man. I know the massive guy/smaller girl cliche is hated but . . . I kinda love it. And it's a Hazelwood staple. So thanks. But on to the book: The romance was whirlwind once started—though true enemies-to-lovers at the beginning. There's miscommunication, but not to a frightening extent (I like that trope tho, so can you really believe me?), but the book's otherwise pretty trope-less and original. I ADORED seeing a diabetic character as a protagonist and not making her whole arc or every interaction about diabetes! There was a lot of screen time to the academic side. Almost too much for your average layperson, but not quite. I found I wasn't as bored by it as I was reading her other book, Love on the Brain, though it has more than The Love Hypothesis. (Though as a person employed at an institution mentioned in the book, some of the academic aspects hit hard.) I didn't feel like the mental aspect went too far down the rabbit hole. In some ways, Elsie's problems are relatable to everyone, even if not at this level. I was really nervous that the focus would become ENTIRELY on that plotline—mental health—but it was just an important aspect instead of the entire focus. The MC also didn't overdo the tough love aspect, as far as him demanding her to be forthcoming (though a few things skirted the line, and I worried with the whole 'I want you because you've never shown your OG self and I like things that have never happened before' aspect might lead to him breaking up with her once he HAS seen all the new things, but the deep commitment romantic whirlwind that felt a little unrealistic actually evened out this fear lol.) I've seen that dominating-guy-commands-her-to-speak-thoughts done wrong in other romance books, but it didn't go far enough to feel icky in this one. Hazelwood has such a way of writing modern characters. Maybe it's her fanfiction background, but the stories feel so alive in the way fanfiction does, except polished. It does throw me when I read references to things so recent, though! (For example, referencing Young Sheldon tv show season 7, which was just announced a few months ago? Or AOC references? You on the ball, Ali!) Reaching the character growth in this book made me realize that while The Love Hypothesis is my all-time favorite book, the characters don't really grow in it. Olive is wonderful at the start and Olive is wonderful at the finish. But Elsie's transformation is really distinguishable between chapter one and the end of the book. Jacks too, in some ways, but let me focus All in all, Love, Theoretically didn't sing to me like TLH, but it was wonderful nonetheless. I laughed, I misted a little, and I read it all in one sitting. I feel like I got COVID-quarantine vibes from this book. It was cozy and easy and soft to read.

THIS IS THE BEST ROMANCE I READ THIS YEAR. Yeah I read good romantasy & even rate other book higher than this, but for STRAIGHT UP ROMANCE book, this is FAR THE BEST. I can imagine myself staring at the wall for the rest of my life manifesting (re: imagine) for a man like Jack will show up at my door step and do whatever he did to Elsie. I literally cry along with Elsie throughout the book because I REALLY CAN FEEL HER. The hard life as a people pleasure.... doing APE every single time....... and how I really want to be seen as my true self by someone... Elsie is like the extreme case of people pleasure and Jack.... I dont believe any man can be that devoted to "unlock" someone as hard as Jack do.... but the whole plot is make sense to me so I rate this book high. Oh my favorite part is the weekend(s) at Jack's! I feel like I feel like (more like.... I start to learn and make sense to it) why people do sex and why it's called "make love" (or "makes love"?) Haha

Y’all few things make my Astronomers heart happy in the way having a fresh Ali Hazelwood book does, and yes I started the audiobook at midnight, and it was wholeheartedly worth it because yet again it’s 5 massive stars for me! Narrative was fantastically on point, and felt very true to the characters with her inflections and tone. She truly captures Elsie’s voice perfectly and pulled off all of the male characters with what seems like ease. All characters were very easily distinguishable and fit the character’s personality and background. Will love to relisten to this I’ve! Now to the story itself! Did I mention I loved it? As a disabled/chronically ill STEM baddie myself (I’m an Astronomer who is still pissed I’m not called a Skyentist) I felt so seen by the FMC Elsie who is also chronically ill (Type one Diabetes) like me, and a theoretical physicist who doesn’t quite know where she fits in the world. She relies heavily on people pleasing and making herself fit in every situation and this goes seemingly unnoticed by everyone in the world but Jack, her soon to be but maybe technically already nemesis. So much of myself was on these pages, which is something I experience every time I read her books because she has a fantastic way of giving you all the OMG I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME moments your therapy has been lacking. The banter, wit and nerdtastic easter eggs are always on point (SO SAY WE ALL to that subtle BSG reference) with pacing and character development clearly well fleshed out so that it never feels rushed or like insta love even in a stand-alone romance. Her worlds are always believable, relatable and full of self discovery which isn’t easy to hit the mark on every time. But, as expected Love Theoretically seriously earned it’s ranking amidst its predecessors on my bookshelf because it had all the above and more. I will be glaring in I TOLD YOU SO at my bank for giving me grief over how many editions I preordered. Seriously y’all, if you are a chronically ill romance reader, someone who struggles being a people pleaser who might just need to see themselves as the totally normal relatable hero, a woman fighting through the patriarchy just to live all of your STEM dreams (and may still think Bill Nye is a hottie, also I see you Mitchio Kaku and Brian Cox) or all of the above, this is the contemporary steminist romance for you!

So I finally finished this book!!!! This is one of the first paperback books I bought when I started reading again January 2024. I repeatedly picked it up and struggled to get through the first 10-15% It is a bit slow, but it is also more detailed in the world of stem. I picked this book up again as audio. I am currently in an audio era and knocked it out in 2 days. While again the beginning was a bit slow, once it picked up I enjoyed it. I liked their banter and enjoyed a lot of the side characters. This was my first Ali Hazelwood book and I will be reading more

Thank you PRH Audio for the gifted copy! Ali Hazelwood’s books are always so good. I love that they’re not just STEM-lite. She makes the world of STEM feel accessible without losing what makes it interesting, and it’s one of the reasons I enjoy her books so much. The rivalry between Jack and Elsie was amazing. There were so many layers and nuances to their history that made this book feel different from Ali’s other romances. I loved slowly learning more about their past assumptions, misunderstandings, and the reality of who they both were beneath the surface. One of my favorite parts of the story was Elsie learning her worth and finally claiming it. Watching her stop shrinking herself to make everyone else comfortable was incredibly satisfying. Ali Hazelwood always writes characters with so much depth and brokenness, and seeing them grow into themselves is one of the most rewarding parts of her books. The romance was wonderful, the chemistry was fantastic, and by the end I was completely invested in both of them. Elsie and Jack might honestly be my favorite Ali Hazelwood couple to date. 🎧 Thérèse Plummer is always an enjoyable narrator.

I hated that line about sex work being work. It's the subjugation and exploitation of women's (and the LGBTQ+'s) bodies and liberal feminism is a plague to have tried to make it seem respectable when it is anything but! Anyway, this book was fantastic aside from that libfem nonsense. I typically get annoyed with the male lead after a while and although Elsie was a bit exhausting at times, I managed to devour this book in a couple of hours. The lemon was extra citrus-y and the world building was so easy to get lost into. What a great read and I'm looking forward to Cece's story next! *nudge nudge*

Tally me in the column of those who love this book. I thought I had finished it—only to find myself sneaking back to reread passages. The ethos of this novel, much like Hazelwood’s earlier hit "The Love Hypothesis," creates an inviting environment for a few hours of pure escapism. The bond between the best friends is as warmly irresistible as the romantic relationship between the leads is sensuously intense. This emotional richness seems to be a hallmark of Hazelwood’s writing. However, one aspect I questioned in "Love, Theoretically" was the assumption that Jack ruined the reputation of an entire discipline. The tension between theoretical and experimental physics is well-known—especially if you're familiar with The Big Bang Theory, where Sheldon, the lofty purist, assumes superiority over Leonard and his experimentalist peers. Hazelwood adds depth to this conflict by referencing a real-life example in which a particular disciplinary approach was discredited by a critical article. She outlines the details in an addendum for readers who want to explore further. Real life situation aside, the situation in the book seems clear (at least to me—am I the only one?) that the person defamed bears much of the blame himself. His decision to accept the controversial article for publication is, in my view, the real issue—not the supposed malice of the article’s author. Had the editor exercised proper oversight, his career might have remained intact. Instead, his failure to critically evaluate the piece comes across as laziness or incompetence. Yet throughout much of the book, the heroine Elsie supports the so-called victim’s perspective, with little acknowledgment that he might share responsibility. 💖 Final Thoughts That caveat aside, I was thoroughly satisfied. Hazelwood excels at writing heroes who love without reservation and heroines who, smart, strong but also adorable messes, finally receive the love they deserve.

Elsie is a theoretical physicist who is trying to get a job that will jump start her career. Come to find out Jack is on the panel who will be deciding who gets the job. Jack is an experimental physicist who once wrote a paper that discredited Elsie’s field. I really enjoyed this romcom. It is a slow burn with good spice and lots of drama.

The book arrived in great condition and I enjoyed reading it!

Another great read by Ali Hazelwood. Can’t wait for her next books

You have to read it

There may be quite a few story-arc spoilers or character-arc spoilers, so if you haven’t read the book and want to not be spoiled, do not venture further, my friend. When I started this book, I was sure it was going to be like all the other Ali Hazelwood books I’d read so far; AKA Love Hypothesis 2.0, then 3.0 and then again. Truly for a bit I was sure that’s where it was heading because the hero was once again big, big, muscles, big and the heroine was small, quirky, struggling. Nothing wrong with any of these things, except that’s all we ever see in all the other books too. However, to my pleasant surprise, the book took a turn to different quite soon and I think this book has been the most successful in attacking my emotional centres. In my opinion, this book delves more into the personal lives of the characters than their professional lives—even though that’s certainly a part of the story. The fact that the characters don’t work together during the course of the book (like in the previous AH novels) helps in making the book feel more itself than like its predecessors. One of my least favourite tropes is the miscommunication trope and I’m quite happy this book doesn’t feature it. Also, while the synopsis calls them “rivals” and the setup matches the description, the story doesn’t follow an enemies to lovers arc. The characters fairly get along even when they ‘hate’ each other. Also, the love interest is a typical AH hero, so… *shrug* expect devotion and obsession. This book is, interestingly, mostly about Elsie finding herself. Yes, I know the other books also feature this aspect; but this is the book that does the most justice to it in my opinion. Elsie (as we’ve seen in some of the previous AH books, I think?) struggles to say no. She also often becomes the personality that she thinks the person in front of her wants her to be—which, given her fake-girlfriend gig is great, but personally not so much. Even if you don’t relate to this particular aspect of her, there’s something very heart-moving, raw and exposed about the book; especially in those moments when Jack (the love interest), sees right through her pretences and calls out her lies. There’s a moment in this book when the heroine makes a momentary mistake that I thought was a very natural response to pain and societal conditioning. I like that she internally struggled, apologised and spoke about it and I personally respect the author more for having had her character make that slip. It’s that conditioning we need to fight, even at our weakest not just at our strongest. The female friendship in this book is lovely, I love that her friend has a distinct personality and she’s known to drop the odd gem. There’s a particular moment when she gives her opinion about Elsie’s (and the reader’s) idea of something and calls it what it is. Talking about friendships, I’m super happy to say the hero of this book, Jack, had fantastic friendships. Bless his soul. After the past few books being all about the love interest’s best friend being the main antagonist of the story, I’m super happy to see an AH book with a hero with heathy platonic relationships and a family in friends. All these interactions were so lovely. Jack was a bit of a surprise. He was introduced a certain way and then revealed to be very different from that. My favourite part of how his character is written is how up-front he was about his feelings. Usually the confession in Hazelwood’s books are towards the end to solve the miscommunication trope (*bombastic side-eye*). But in this book the confession happens at exactly the perfect time. (SEE! STOP MAKING MISCOMMUNICATION A TROPE PEOPLE. ITS TIME IS OVER IN THE BOOK WORLD, LET IT RIP.) However, being the person that constantly watches out for Elsie’s wants and needs, it often feels like he’s overlooking his own OR he’s taking decisions that warp the natural flow with which something would happen. This too, was addressed and I enjoyed that it wasn’t overlooked and the hero wasn’t perfect. Heck, the heroine calls him out on something and he behaves exactly the way he would expect Elsie to when she’s called out. The diabetes rep was definitely one of my favourite parts of the book. It wasn’t thrown in as an add-on and was given importance. I personally loved it, however since I haven’t lived with the condition I can’t attest for how accurate it was. So I apologise if I’ve missed something important that wasn’t done right. There’s a lot of strength, vulnerability and determination in this book and it’s closest to being my favourite Ali Hazelwood book so far (and no, Love Hypothesis never was my favourite; *hides from thrown stones coming her way*). Four stars! Only knocking off a star because as different as the book was, the characters were quite the same and the general task the MC has to achieve is fairly the same. Also, the book kiiinda reads like a mild fan-fiction of The Hating Game. Happy reading!

Es geht um die „… unremarkable Elsie Hannaway of the medium everything. Medium heigh. Medium-brown hair and eyes.“. Elsie ist eine außerplanmäßige Professorin und „..secretly a liquid crystal theory superhero“. Da der Job nicht zum Überleben reicht, arbeitet sie nebenbei noch als Fake-Girlfriend. Jetzt hat sie die Chance an der MIT eine Arbeit mit Krankenversicherung und normalem Gehalt zu bekommen. Doch leider arbeitet dort Jack Smith, er ist „… like an oak tree on steroids with a six-foot-eight wingspan. Is he even human?“ und entscheidet mit, ob sie dort eingestellt wird oder nicht. Und er ist der einzige, den sie nicht einschätzen kann. Elsie ist ein People Pleaser und gibt jedem genau das was er sehen und hören möchte und von ihr selbst bleibt dabei nicht viel übrig. („I’d give everyone the me they wanted, needed, craved, and in exchange they’d care about me.“) Sie „ … graduated with a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Northeastern.“. Ihr Charakter macht eine unglaubliche Entwicklung durch. Jack hilft ihr ehrlich zu sich und anderen zu sein. („This is new to me - talking to others like the me I really am.“) Jack hingegen „… has a dimple. Only one. Ugh.“ Typisch. Er ist schon erfolgreicher als Elsie, hat einen ausgeprägten Beschützerinstinkt und ist selbstverständlich mit der einzige feministische Mann im STEM Universum. Oh ja und er sieht aus wie ein Kühlschrank, „Or I mixed him up with the refrigerator. They are similarly sized, after all.“ Natürlich ist er vollkommen hin und weg von Elsie und sie merkt es kein bisschen, sondern denkt er würde sie hassen. Das war sehr platt. Ich habe keinen Moment geglaubt, dass man echt denken könnte er hasst sie. Jack ist dafür verantwortlich, dass Elsie’s Mentor und die ganzen theoretischen Physiker des 20.Jhdt. leiden und nicht mehr ernst genommen werden. Inspiriert wurde die Schriftstellerin hier von dem „Sokal Hoax (…) in 1996“. Themen, die Ali Hazelwood in ihren Romanen gerne verarbeitet ist die STEM Welt und wie Frauen auch heute noch stark zu kämpfen haben. Interessant war der Einblick in die Gedanken eines People Pleasers und das Ace/Aro Spectrum. Ich liebe Ali Hazelwoods wortwitzigen Schreibstil, doch diesmal war es schwer in einigen Abschnitten der Handlung zu folgen. Das Buch enthält viele viele viele Fachbegriffe aus der Physik. Auch in diesem Buch habe ich eine Anspielung auf ein anderes Buch von hier gefunden. Elsie hat sich nämlich gefragt, was das Mädchen vom „WhatWouldMarieDo account“ tuen würde. Alles in allem hat mir „Love, Theoretically“ gut gefallen. Die Handlung ist fesselnd, der Wortwitz erheiternd und die Charaktere wie erwartet sehr gut gestaltet. Ich empfehle das Buch jedem, der gerne feministische Rom-Com liest.